FFF Classic Film Review: "The Umbrellas of Chebourg" ("Les parapluies de Cherbourg") (1964).

Though the film's tagline says "For All the Young Lovers of the World", but The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (Les Parapluies de Cherbourg) is more than just a valentine. This French musical film was written and directed by Jacques Demy, with music and lyrics by Michel Legrand. Set in Cherbourg, November 1957. The film centers on Madame Emery and her daughter, Geneviève, who run a store called The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. Geneviève is in love with Guy, a mechanic working in a garage. Their brief romance is interrupted when Guy is drafted to serve in the Algerian War. Suddenly left pregnant and desperate because she has little news of Guy, Geneviève is forced to make life-altering decisions.

The second film in Demy's informal "romantic trilogy", between Lola (1961) and The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967), Demy and Legrand made a unique and crazy experiment: a melodrama entirely sung much in the style of an opera of the everyday, and is displayed through cinematographer Jean Rabier's vividly and brightly coloured photography. Both the continuous musical score and the sumptuous photography contributed to the popularity of the film. Formally the work is operatic, with the plot advanced entirely through dialogue sung with accompanying music. The whole is united by an orchestral score of simple rhythms and tunes that are integrated with the story covering five years. Thus resulted in Catherine Deneuve’s Geneviève singing herself into the hearts of audiences around the world. Either crazily admired or mocked, the film was an international success upon its release and has since become a major reference in world cinema. The film score established composer Michel Legrand's reputation in Hollywood. He later scored other films, winning three Oscars. In North America, two of the film's songs became hits and were recorded by many artists: I Will Wait For You (the main theme) and Watch What Happens (originally Recit de Cassard, Cassard's Story). Both were given new English lyrics by lyricist Norman Gimbel. Tony Bennett's performance of the theme song was added to one version of the soundtrack. Harry James recorded a version of Watch What Happens on his 1977 album Comin' From A Good Place (Sheffield Lab LAB 6). The film would go on to inspire many musicals afterwards, especially that of La La Land (2016), whom writer/director Damien Chazelle has cited as a primary influence and is one of his all-time favorite films.

The film stars Catherine Deneuve, Nino Castelnuovo, Anne Vernon, Marc Michel and Ellen Farner. The cast gave terrific performances, especially that of Catherine Deneuve who radiated throughout the film and defined the term "Blonde Bombshell".

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg adds a new dimension into a bygone genre with its unique and experimental direction, terrific performances, and its bittersweet yet poignant heart. It may look like the world that we dream about, but it also bravely shows the bittersweet, and sometimes cruel, reality of that world. The film is probably the most daring musical and that's why it deserves all the credit.

Simon says The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (Les Parapluies de Cherbourg) receives:

Film Review: "Kong: Skull Island" (2017).

"Awaken the King" He has finally awaken in Kong: Skull Island. This monster film directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts, written by Dan Gilroy, Max Borenstein and Derek Connolly, from a story by John Gatins and based on the eponymous character by Merian C. Cooper and Edgar Wallace. The film is a reboot in the King Kong franchise and serves the second instalment in Legendary's MonsterVerse. The film centres on a team of scientists explore an uncharted island in the Pacific, venturing into the domain of the mighty Kong, and must fight to escape a primal Eden.

In July 2014, Legendary Pictures announced a King Kong origin story, initially titled Skull Island, with a release date of November 4, 2016 at the 2014 San Diego Comic-Con. Guillermo del Toro and Joe Cornish were originally considered for the director's chair before Jordan Vogt-Roberts was announced in September. In the same month, Legendary announced that film was moved from Universal to Warner Bros, so they could later make a King Kong and Godzilla crossover film, which would be released in 2020, since Legendary still had the rights to two Godzilla sequels with Warner Bros. The studio also announced that Tom Hiddleston would play the lead role. In December, the film was re-titled to Kong: Skull Island. Several screenwriters were attached to pen the script, which included Max Borenstein, John Gatins, Dan Gilroy and Derek Connolly. Borenstein and Vogt-Roberts' initial influence for the film was Apocalypse Now (1979). By November 2015, Samuel L. Jackson, John Goodman, Brie Larson, Jing Tian, Toby Kebbell, John Ortiz, Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell, Shea Whigham, Thomas Mann, Terry Notary and John C. Reilly were confirmed for the film. Principal photography began in October 2015, the film was shot throughout various location in Australia, Hawaii and Vietnam. The film features the tallest incarnation of Kong in an American film, standing approximately 104 feet (31.6 meters) tall, this is the tallest incarnation since King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962), which stood approximately 147 feet (45 meters) tall. By comparison, Peter Jackson's Kong was only 25 feet (7.6 meters) tall. Kong's design is inspired by a combination of the 1933 incarnation and the Japanese incarnation.

The film features an ensemble cast that includes; Hiddleston, Jackson, Goodman, Larson, Tian, Kebbell, Ortiz, Hawkins, Mitchell, Whigham, Mann, Notary and Reilly. With little to no characterisation, the cast gave the best performances they could. Hiddleston and Larson's characters were the weakest and the least interesting. While John C. Reilly was the best character in the film and stole the entire show.

With just enough Apocalypse Now inspired flair to anchor the spectacle of Kong roaming and brawling, Jordan Vogt-Roberts' Kong: Skull Island satisfyingly restores the franchise's giant ape glory. It is truly the first joyous popcorn action movie of the season. However, like Godzilla (2014), the issue with the film was that the human characters were not that fun to watch. Sometimes we wish they would just leave the screen when he or she was there, they were a letdown.

Simon says Kong: Skull Island receives:

Film Review: "Cries from Syria" (2017).

"Fighting for freedom. Fighting to survive." This is Cries from Syria. This documentary film directed by Evgeny Afineevsky, and narrated by Helen Mirren. The film is a searing, comprehensive account of a brutal five-year conflict from the inside out, drawing on hundreds of hours of war footage from Syrian activists and citizen journalists, as well as testimony from child protestors, leaders of the revolution, human rights defenders, ordinary citizens, and high-ranking army generals who defected from the government. Their collective stories are a cry for attention and help from a world that little understands their reality or agrees on what to do about it.

Currently labeled as the second deadliest of the 21st century, The Syrian Civil War is an ongoing multi-sided conflict between the Ba'athist Syrian Arab Republic led by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, along with domestic and foreign allies, and various domestic and foreign forces opposing both the Syrian government and each other in varying combinations. Since mid March 2011, with the major unrest in Damascus and Aleppo and the Arab Spring protests, the unrest in Syria grew out of discontent with the Syrian government and escalated to an armed conflict after protests calling for Assad's removal were violently suppressed. Between 2011 and 2017, the war has spilled over into Lebanon as opponents and supporters of the Syrian government traveled to Lebanon to fight and attack each other on Lebanese soil, with ISIL and Al-Nusra also engaging the Lebanese Army. Furthermore, while officially neutral, Israel has conducted airstrikes against Hezbollah and Iranian forces, whose presence in southwestern Syria it views as a threat. International organizations have criticized virtually all sides involved, including the Ba'athist Syrian government, ISIL, opposition rebel groups, Russia, and the U.S.-led coalition of severe human rights violations and massacres. The conflict has caused a major refugee crisis. Over the course of the war, a number of peace initiatives have been launched, including the March 2017 Geneva peace talks on Syria led by the United Nations, but fighting continues. The film contains video shot by Syrians with and interviews with guerilla fighters, activists, journalists, defected military men, and refugees, some that are children. In an interview Afineesky said, "I tried to put together a comprehensive story so that people can not only learn from the historical mistakes, but so people can reevaluate what we have on our hands."

Cries from Syria never takes its eye off the story's underlying and very dramatic theme, and that would be nothing less than revolution. Though the film is limited by a point of view that's too polemically reductive, the idealistic, difficult, sometimes lethal struggles it covers are undeniably revelatory and moving. Modern technology may not yet be able to capture the smell of gunpowder and tear gas, but Mr. Afineevsky takes the viewer closer to the action than might have seemed possible. Being able to bear witness firsthand to this conflict is an incredible privilege, albeit a heartbreaking one. The film plays out like a harrowingly bloody, real-life Tales of Two Cities.

Simon says Cries from Syria receives:

Also, see my review for Winter on Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom.

FFF Film Review: "Planetarium" (2016).

"We will never know what is on the point of changing." This is at the heart of Planetarium. This French-Belgian drama film directed by Rebecca Zlotowski. The film follows the journey of sisters who are believed to possess the supernatural ability to connect with ghosts. They cross paths with a visionary French producer while performing in Paris.

After the success of her second feature Grand Central in 2013, in May 2015, it was announced that Rebecca Zlotowski would be directing from a screenplay by her and Robin Campillo (They Came Back (2004)), with Frederic Jouve (who also produced Zlotowski's Grand Central) and his Les Films Velvet banner producing and financing. The film is loosely based on the lives and works of the Fox sisters and other formative figures in the field of Spiritualism. It was also announced that Natalie Portman and Lily-Rose Depp had been cast in the film as the Barlow sisters, who specialise in seances. Principal photography for the film began late September 2015, and was shot throughout France, especially Paris. The film was the first film to be entirely shot on the Alexa 65. The filmmakers utilised the digital format to reanimate the gauzy quality of the weathered and lucid celluloid quality found in the 1930s.

 The film stars Natalie Portman. Lily-Rose Depp, Louis Garrel and Emmanuel Salinger. The cast gave fine performances that elevated and carried the film, especially the two female leads. Both Portman and Depp gave surprisingly fine performances and their French was immaculate. This shouldn't have been a surprise considering that Depp is the daughter of Vanessa Paradis, the famous French actress and singer. As for Portman, it shouldn't be a surprise since Portman is a Harvard graduate and is married to French ballet dancer Benjamin Millepied. Whom Portman met during the filming of Black Swan in 2009. Plus, she is undeniably one of the best actresses of her generation, there is a role she can't take on at this point and she is, by definition, a chameleon. However, her performance in the film is not as powerful or Oscar-worthy as her performance in Jackie.

Planetarium is a film that is both underwritten and over-performed. Many of the scenes seem to have been whittled down to the nub, which at times turns it into a succession of wordless gestures and poses. Given the generally risible dialogue, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. However, at time, the film feels more unimaginative than compelling, and is an oddly plotted and frantically paced pastiche. In addition, even though it features some extravagant and entertaining moments, the film feels more like a European TV drama than an actual cinematic period drama. In the end, it is a spiritual drama that tries to be drama, comedy, romance and fantasy all in one bag, mixed together to become a not-so successful result. A film that sometimes appears more silly, muddled and confusing as though a hex has been placed on it.

Simon says Planetarium receives:

Film Review: "Moonlight" (2016).

"This is the story of a lifetime." This is Moonlight. This African-American LGBT drama film directed by Barry Jenkins, written by Jenkins and Tarell Alvin McCraney, based on the previously unpublished play In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue by McCraney. The film is a chronicle of the childhood, adolescence and burgeoning adulthood of a young gay black man, and his struggle to find himself.

McCraney's play was shelved for about a decade after he first completed in 2003. After the release of his debut feature film Medicine for Melancholy (2008), Jenkins struggled to get future projects off the ground. In January 2013, producer Adele Romanski urged Jenkins to make a second film. The two brainstormed a few times a month through video-chat, with the goal of producing a low-budget "cinematic and personal" film. Jenkins was introduced to McCraney’s play through the Borscht arts collective in Miami. After discussions with McCraney, Jenkins wrote the first draft for the film during his month-long visit to Brussels. Jenkins took narrative structural inspiration from Three Times (2005) by Taiwanese director Hsiao-Hsien Hou. Although the original play contained three parts that chronicled a day in the life of Little, Chiron and Black simultaneously, Jenkins instead chose to split the film into three distinct parts and to focus on Chiron's story from the perspective of an ally. The result was a screenplay that reflected the similar upbringings of Jenkins and McCraney. Both grew up in Miami, specifically in Liberty Square, and both their mothers struggled with drug addiction. In 2013, Jenkins then began his search for financing, which he successfully obtained after an early meeting with Brad Pitt. Pitt helped Jenkins get the necessary funds and distribution deal he required. With a minuscule budget of $1.5 million, Principal photography commenced in October and concluded in November 2015. The film was shot throughout Miami during its breakneck 25-day shoot. In regards to the look of the three different chapters, Jenkins and his longtime cinematographer James Laxton achieved this by shooting on widescreen CinemaScope on an Arri Alexa digital camera. Then manipulated the colours and looks of the different chapters. This was achieved by increasing the contrast and saturation while preserving the detail and color, as well as imitating three different film stocks. The first chapter emulated the Fuji film stock to intensify the cast's skin tones. The second chapter imitated the Agfa film stock, which added cyan to the images, while the third chapter used a modified Kodak film stock.

The film stars Trevante Rhodes, André Holland, Janelle Monáe, Ashton Sanders, Naomie Harris, and Mahershala Ali. Each of the cast gave raw, gritty and unique performances that anchored the film and carried it forward.

An honest examination of finding ones self, in this case their sexuality, has rarely impacted more powerfully than Moonlight. The first African-American film in a long line of coming-of-age LGBT dramas. However, the film's merits comes more from its distinctive visual beauty rather than its sometimes chopped and screwed narrative.

Simon says Moonlight receives:

Film Review: "Logan" (2017).

"His time has come." The time has finally come with Logan. This superhero film directed by James Mangold, written by Mangold, Scott Frank and Michael Green, and based on the graphic novel Old Man Logan by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven. The film is the tenth installment in the X-Men film series, as well as the third and final Wolverine film, following X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) and The Wolverine (2013). In the near future, a weary Logan cares for an ailing Professor X in a hide out on the Mexican border. But Logan's attempts to hide from the world and his legacy are up-ended when a young mutant arrives, being pursued by dark forces.

Development for Logan began in November 2013, when Mangold was hired to write a treatment that took inspiration from the graphic novel Old Man Logan. In March 2014, Jackman signed on to star as Logan, in what is intended to be his final portrayal of the character, after having played the role for 17 years. Jackman has cited his age and his skin cancer as factors in him retiring from the role. The same month, Fox set a release date and officially brought Mangold onboard to direct. Green took over writing duties in April 2015. By the following April, most of the supporting roles, which includes Patrick Stewart, Richard E. Grant, Boyd Holbrook, Stephen Merchant and Dafne Keen, had been cast. Principal photography began in May 2016 and concluded in August 2016. Locations included New Orleans, Louisiana, Natchez, Mississippi, and Albuquerque, Rio Rancho, Abiquiú, Tierra Amarilla and Chama, New Mexico. In the same month, producer Simon Kinberg confirmed that the film will be R-rated. Mangold revealed that Fox was hesitant for the film to be R-rated. However, thanks to the success of Deadpool (2016) and Jackman taking a salary cut, the film was able to keep its R rating. 

The film stars Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Richard E. Grant, Boyd Holbrook, Stephen Merchant and Dafne Keen. The cast gave spectacular performances, especially Jackman. Jackman gives a career-defining performance for the ages. Jackman creates a galvanizing and deeply moving portrait that instantly takes its place among the great, iconic screen performances. Jackman's performance is a celebration of a silver-screen comic book character that we have loved since he was first brought to life in 2000.

Logan is a rich and dramatic swan song of the beloved X-Men character and a career-defining film for Hugh Jackman. The film contains something more than the action and the grandeur that we have come to have loved about the X-Men films. It contains a tremendous comprehension of the bitterness and passion of the character of Logan. It contains a human revelation of the soul of Logan that prevailed in his heart all along, instead of the soul of the savage animalistic killer we know. And it also contains a very wonderful disection of the father/child relationships in Logan, Charles Xavier and Laura amid all the action-packed moments, the blood-soaked violence and landscapes of a futuristic western frontier.

Simon says Logan receives:

Also, see my review for The Wolverine and Deadpool.

Film Review: "T2 Trainspotting" (2017).

"Face your past. Choose your future." This is T2 Trainspotting. This British black comedy drama film directed by Danny Boyle, written by John Hodge, and based on characters created by Irvine Welsh in his novel Trainspotting and its follow-up Porno. First there was an opportunity......then there was a betrayal. Twenty years have gone by. Much has changed but just as much remains the same. Mark Renton returns to the only place he can ever call home. They are waiting for him: Spud, Sick Boy, and Begbie. Other old friends are waiting too: sorrow, loss, joy, vengeance, hatred, friendship, love, longing, fear, regret, diamorphine, self-destruction and mortal danger, they are all lined up to welcome him, ready to join the dance.

In 1995, prior to the release of Trainspotting, a script for a sequel was reportedly written, but was scrapped so that the original cast would all agree to return for a sequel. In January 2009, Boyle declared his wish to make a sequel to his 1996 film, which would take place nine years after the original film. He was reportedly waiting until the original actors themselves aged visibly enough to portray the same characters, ravaged by time. In March 2013, Boyle said he wanted to make a sequel that would be loosely based on Porno, and said that if the sequel were to happen, it would be for a 2016 release. In early May 2014, Welsh said that he had spent a week with Boyle, Andrew Macdonald and the creative team to discuss the sequel. In early September 2015, Boyle stated his next film would be the tentatively titled Trainspotting 2 or T2. Later that month, Boyle revealed that a script for the sequel had been written, and that filming would reportedly take place between May and June 2016, in the hopes of releasing the film within that same year to commemorate Trainspotting's 20th anniversary. In November 2015, while promoting Steve Jobs, Boyle said that pre-production had begun in Edinburgh. Boyle also clarified that John Hodge wrote a script for the sequel. In early December 2015, it was announced that Sony's TriStar Pictures had acquired worldwide rights to the film. In addition, Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremner, Jonny Lee Miller, Robert Carlyle, Kelly Macdonald, Shirley Henderson, and James Cosmo would all return to reprise their roles. In early March 2016, principal photography commenced, and took place Edinburgh, Scotland.

The film stars McGregor, Bremner, Lee Miller, Carlyle, Macdonald, Henderson, and Cosmo, who reprise their roles. Like the first time round, the film has a cast whose magnetism monopolizes our attention no matter what.

T2 Trainspotting features thrilling dramatic sequences and eye-popping cinematography, but despite the depth of the characters, it doesn't quite take this British dark comedy drama landmark to the next level. Nonetheless, it's a brutal, often times funny, other times terrifying portrayal of the aftermath of drug addiction in Edinburgh. Not for the faint of heart, but well worth viewing as a realistic and entertaining reminder of the horrors of drug use and its aftermath.

Simon says T2 Trainspotting receives:

Also, see my review for Steve Jobs.